“You’re killing me, baby,” I whisper, brushing back her hair and kissing her cheek. “I’m so sorry she hurt you. I’m sorry about my past, more sorry than you can ever know, and I hate that it’s hurting you, that it’s touching you in any way. I would change it if I could, but I can’t. All I can do is promise you my future. I understand how you feel, but you’re wrong. You’re not below any other person, and I refuse to stand by and watch you let someone like that bitch make you feel bad about yourself.”
“She was just telling me what I already know. I needed the reminder, Valeri. It’s okay, really. I mean, we were kind of doomed from the beginning anyway.”
“You think so?” I say, unable to hide the anger from my voice.
“You’re so far out of my league that it’s not even funny. You’re an Aston Martin. I’m the public bus. There’s no changing that.”
“Bullshit,” I say, fisting her hair and pulling her head back so she’s forced to look at me. “I will not accept that, Evie. You were mine the second you hit my car, and I’m not letting you go. Not now, not ever. You think I give a shit that you don’t have money?”
I don’t wait for her to answer. I just lean closer and say, “I’ve got news for you, sweetheart, what’s mine is yours, so you’re loaded. You’ve got more money than anyone else in this club.”
“Valeri,” she starts to protest, but I cut her words off with a kiss, reminding her of the truth of things. She’s hesitant at first, but when I give her bottom lip a soft bite and force her lips apart with my tongue, she moans and lets me in. The kiss is hungry and hard, and when I let her go, she’s breathless.
“I love you,” I tell her, whispering it against her lips. “I’ve never loved anyone, Evie Finch, but I fucking love you.” I let out a soft laugh. “I’d planned on telling you that later and not in a bathroom at the club, but I don’t want you to ever doubt how I feel. This isn’t a game to me. I know it’s quick, but I don’t care. I love you.”
Her eyes are watery again, but the pain in them is slowly fading. She cups my face, resting her forehead against mine and lets out a small sigh. “I love you too, Valeri. I’m just scared.”
“Of what?”
“Everything,” she says with a soft laugh. “My dad, the future, constantly running into women you’ve slept with. It’s just a big change for me.”
“Let me worry about all of that. You don’t need to worry about anything ever again.” I give her another kiss. “That’s what you have me for.”
“And I’m terrified that you’re going to break my heart,” she admits in a whisper.
I smile against her lips. “That’s never going to happen, baby. I’m a goner, Evie. You’re it for me.”
The tightness around my chest eases when I see her smile.
“There’s my girl,” I whisper, running my eyes over her beautiful face. “Tell me what you want to do, baby. We can go back out there and have a few more drinks, or we can go home, or I can take you somewhere else, anywhere you want to go. I’ll be happy with whatever you decide.”
She runs her fingers along my cheek while she thinks. “I want to go back out there. I don’t want to let her ruin our night.”
“Then we’ll go back out there, and we’ll leave whenever you want.” I smile and give her another kiss. “My family really likes you.”
“I like them too. You and your brothers have more tattoos than I think I’ve ever seen,” she says with a laugh, reminding me that there’s still so much I need to tell her. “Their wives seem really nice.”
“They are, and I knew they’d love you.”
I set her down, and she turns to the mirror, groaning when she sees her reflection. “God, I feel stupid. They all know I’ve been crying in here, and that’s exactly what I look like I’ve been doing.”
“You look beautiful and perfect and sexy as hell.”
She meets my eyes in the mirror, looking at me like I must be blind. I give her ass a smack, smiling at the way her eyes widen in surprise.
“That doesn’t count as one of your birthday spankings. You got this one because you put yourself down, and I don’t like it when you do that. It’s something you’ll need to stop doing unless you want to constantly be walking around with my handprint on your ass.”
“Someone’s bossy,” she teases, a small smile playing at her lips.
“God, sweetheart, you have no idea.”
She turns around with a laugh and wraps an arm around me, letting me lead her out of the bathroom. As soon as we’re back in the main area, Maddie and Nina come up and pull Evie towards them. When I raise a brow at them, Maddie laughs and says, “We need a drink and some girl talk.”
Evie smiles at me to let me know she’s okay, and I watch them walk to the other end of the bar, noticing the way all the men keep their eyes averted and give them a wide berth. Everyone knows who Maddie and Nina are married to, and no one here has a death wish. Word has already started to spread, and soon everyone will also know that Evie is mine.
I walk over to Volodya and Vasily. They’re leaning against the bar, and Vasily is already holding a shot of vodka out for me. Volodya’s wearing a smug grin that makes me laugh. He looks way too happy with himself.
“Thanks for getting her ass out of here,” I tell him.
